Adjustment device for locomotive bearing-boxes.



- F. A. DIBGKMAN.

ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FoRj LOGOMOTIVE BEARING BOXES. APPLICATION IILED'AUG.28, 1911.

1,012,610. Patented Dec.26, 1911.

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| I I I l l I i V I Q o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE BEARING-BOXES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

Application filed August 28, 1911. Serial No. 646,442.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F RED A. DIEOKMAN, of Manitowoc, WVisconsin, haveinvented an Adjustment Device for Locomotive Bearing- Boxes, of whichthe following is a specification,

This invention relates to locomotives, and

' in particular to the adjustment of the main bearings of thedriving-axles thereof.

According tothe usual construction, the driving-wheel axles arejournaled injournalboxes, which have a vertical reciprocating motion inpedestals of the locomotive-frame. Owing to the reaction of the forceapplied to the crank, there is great lateral wear upon thesejournal-boxes and theinner faces of the pedestals, which necessitates acompensating device, and this is commonly applied in the form of a taperbushing, termed a wedge, on one side of the pedestal, and be tween itandthe journal-box, which forms a bearing-face forthe latter, and bymoving up or down can take up the wear and prevent rattling or poundingof the box. This wedge is, in the usual arrangement, made to be set in ahigher or lower position by means of one or two screw-stems attached toits lower end and locked in position by two nuts, which are ammed uponoppositesides of the binder-bar, which connects the two sides of thebottom of the pedestal. It is the means of adjustment and setting of thewedge that I aim to improve by the present invention.

The described means for setting the wedge is defective for two reasons:In the first place, on account of the constant vibration the j am-nutsare continually Working loose, thus allowing the wedge to come down andthe driving-box to pound in its pedestal. It is a well-known fact that aloose drivingbox is very injurious to, the machinery of the locomotive,causing excessive strain on the rodsand rapid wear of the bearings, andis a frequent ,cause of broken frames; be-

sides, the valve-gear and the proper dist-ii bution of steam in thecylinders may be $611- ously afiected. The other defectreferred to isthe difficulty of readjusting the wedge. This is not only a very dirtyjob, but also when on the road a very dangerous and almost impossibleone, as it cannot be done without getting under the locomotives, andthis is so unsafe when on the road, that it is forbidden to enginemen,and yet it is occasionally necessary to prevent serious consequences.The wedge has generally to be set up in the round house, where it cannot be tried to see Whether it is correctly set or not, and if it be setthe least bit too tight, it may result in a jam, that is to say in thedriving-box sticking in the pedestal, which may also result in a bent orbroken frame. It is generally conceded that the best results would beobtained if engineers were able to do the work of adjusting wedges whilethe engine is in service, as a closer and more satisfactory adjustmentcan thus be obtained, and moreover if the driving-box shows any tendencyto stick in the pedestal, the engine can be stopped and the wedgereadjusted, so as to slightly increase the play.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a device forsetting and holding the wedge, which will dispense with the necessity offrequent resetting by making it impossible for the wedge to work loose,and which will enable the wedge to be set in a few minutes from theoutside of the locomotive by means of a wrench or like device.

In general it consists of an arrangement of gearing having a rotatablestem parallel to the driving axle, and the end of which is adapted tomanipulation through the aperture between the spokes of thedrivingwheel, whereby it can be operated with a wrench.

My device also comprises means on said stem such as a ratchetorstar-wheel, whereby the stem is held in whatever position it is set in.i

My invention further comprises the constructions and combinations whichwill be hereinafter described and are particularly set forth in myclaims.

The exact nature of my invention will best be understood by aconsideration of the most improved form thereof, which I have shown inthe accompanying drawings, wherein.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a locomotive driving-box and itshousings showing my wedge-setting attachment mounted thereon; Fig. 2 isa plan-section thereof on the plane 2; Fig. 3 .is a plan-section thereofon the plane 3;. Fig. 4 is a plan-section through my setting attachmenton the plane 4; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the attachment; and Fig.6 is an end-view of the box through the leaf-spring D in the usualmanner. This is a conventional construction which varies in differentlocomotlves and is independent of my attachment. To

provide for wear onthe pedestal faces there are provided the two flangedbushings E and F, the former of which is fixed in position by two bolts6 to the pedestal-bar a. The other bushing F is made with a taperface fwhich has the same slope as the inner face a of the pedestal bar awhereby its active or wearing-face f is always parallel to that of thebushing E and to the bearingbox, but can be moved in or out by movingthe bushing F up or down; this bushing is therefore termed the wedge.The bearingbox B is provided with flanges 5, 6 which embrace theside-faces of the bushings E and 'F, and said box contains the journalof the driving-axle Gr.

Between the lower ends of the pedestal bars a and a extends a bar orblock H which is termed the binder, said binder being secured in placein various ways, as for example by means of a bolt 1. The wedge F hasmounted on its lower end and extending vertically downward twoscrew-stems J which are prevented from rotating by a transverse pin j orin other suitable manner. These stems pass through holes h in thebinder, said holes being elongated to form slots so as to permit thelateral movement of the stems J, which occurs when the wedge F is movedup or down. These screw-stems are in the usual construction secured tothe binder by a pair of nuts above and below the latter, but which areomitted in gny construction.

According to my construction there is secured to the lower face of thebinder, or formed integrally therewith, if desired, a parallel-sidedblock K of T-shaped cross section which acts as a slideway for anotherblock M having a channel of similar section in its upper face. Thislatter block M forms one member of a sliding-frame which I shall hereterm the gear-cage, and which consists in addition to the block M, of aplate N, two upright blocks 0 and three connecting-bolts P. Saidgear-cage has apertures through which the threaded-ends of the stems Jpass, and between the two members M and N are mounted on said stems apair of worm-wheel nuts Q, said nuts being threaded internally so as toengage with the threads of the stems J and having on their peripheriesworm-teeth which are engaged by a pair of worms a" on acylindrical-shaft B, said stem having journals r on its ends turning inapertures in the blocks 0. Said blocks are secured in place bydowel-pins 0 to the members M and N. g

The front end of the shaft R is extended beyond the front bearing-blockO and receives a ratchet-wheel S fixed thereto by a diametral pin 8 orin other suitable fashion. In front of the ratchet-wheel the shaft isextended in the form of a squared-end r to which a wrench can beapplied.

The teeth of the ratchet-wheel S are arranged to be engaged by eitherend of a double-ended pawl T pivot-ed upon the front of the block M, oneend of said pawl being held in engagement of said teeth by means of aleaf-spring U carrying on its end a roller u which presses laterallyagainst one side or the other of an upright cam-tooth t on the pawl. Itwill be seen that the action of the spring U is to hold against theratchet-wheel which ever end of the pawl is down, and the latter can beeasily shifted from one side to the other by overcoming the force of thespring. This can be done by means of a squared boss t on the face of thepawl, which can be operated by a socket-wrench to reverse it as occasiondemands.

In operation the engine is brought to a stand in such position that asocket-wrench can be inserted between the spokes of the driving-wheeland engaged with the squared end r of the stem, B. On rotating this stemthe wedge T will be moved up or down according to the direction ofrotation of the stem. The teeth of the ratchet-wheel S are in suchdirection that the free rotation when the pawl is in the position of thedrawing will set the wedge up; thus after being so set it is preventedfrom coming down of itself and positively maintained in its position.The wedge can be let down by first reversing the pawl so that theright-hand end in the drawing strikes against the ratchet-teeth. Thisend, it will be noticed, is not hooked, so that it does not preventreverse motion of the teeth, but merely strikes against them and actsfrictionally to prevent free motion of the ratchet-wheeh'and alsoenables the operator to count the number of teeth which pass the pawl sothat he will know how far it is being turned. If the operator shouldforget to turn the pawl back after he has finished letting down thewedge, the friction of the right-hand end upon the ratchet-wheel willstill be sufficient to prevent its moving under ordinary -circumstances.The direction of the ratchet-teeth will be a clear indication to theoperator which way to turn it .to move the wedge up, so that he cannotbecome confused as to direction. Enginemen are in this way enabled tokeep the wedges up snug according to the requirements of each individualengine, and the danger of getting the wedges up too tight, andconsequent sticking of the driving-box, is eliminated, since it is amatter of a few moments to stop the engine on the first sign of stickingor pounding, and turn the ratchet-wheel through one or two teeth. If,moreover, the wedge is already stuck, the gearing provides a reductionsufiiciently powerful for pulling it down by means of a wrench. Thearrangement is such as to provide also an extremely fine and accurateadjustment. Finally, what is of much importance to this generalapplication, my arrangement can be attached to existing locomotiveswithout any change whatever in their design, as it is merely necessaryto remove the binder in order to fit my invention to it.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to the use of allthe above described features and constructions, for some may be omittedand others may be varied or modified in various ways, as will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art. For example, only one stem J isessential to the principle of my invention, and the special form of pawlor even the entire pawl or ratchet-wheel might conceivably be omitted orreplaced by equivalent devices.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a rotatable shaft at right-angles to the movementof the wedge, gearing connecting said shaft and said wedge whereby therotation of said shaft produces longitudinal movement of said wedge, andmeans for rotating said shaft.

2. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a laterally sliding gearcage, a stem mounted onsaid wedge and passing through said gear-cage, gearing can ried by saidgear-cage and engaging said stem, and means for rotating said gearingwhereby said wedge is moved longitudinally.

3. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-Wedge, a laterally sliding gearcage, a stem mounted onsaid wedge and passing through said gear-cage, gearing carried by saidgear-cage and engaging said stem, said gearing including a rotatableshaft at right-angles to said stem, and means for rotating said shaftwhereby said wedge is moved longitudinally.

4. Means for adjusting bearingboxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a screw-stem mounted on said wedge parallel toits longitudinal direction of movement, a nut engaging the threadthereof and confined against longitudinal motion, and a rotatable shaftgeared to said nut whereby the latter isrotated.

5. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a screw-stem mounted on said wedge parallel toits longitudinal direc tion of movement, a worm-wheel. nut engaging thethreads of said stem and confined against longitudinal motion, and arotatable shaft carrying a worm which engages the periphery of saidworm-wheel nut.

6. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a screw-stem mounted on said wedge parallel toits longitudinal. direction of movement, a gear-cage mounted to slide atright-angles to said stem and through which said stem passes, a nutturning on said stem within said cage and confined against longitudinalmovement, and gearing in said cage engaging and. adapted to rotate saidnut, said gearing being rotatable manually from one side of saidgearcage.

7. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a rotatable shaft at right-angles to thelongitudinal movement of said wedge and having'means on one end thereoffor rotating it, gearing connecting said shaft with said wedge wherebythe latter is adjust-able longitudinally by the rotation of said shaft,and a ratchet-device mounted on said stem for holding it in the positionin which'it is set.

8. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-wedge, a rotatable shaft at rightangles to thelongitudinal movement of said wedge and having means on one end thereoffor rotating it, gearing connecting said shaft with said wedge wherebythe latter is ad justable longitudinally by the rotation of said shaft,a ratchet-wheel mounted on said shaft, and a reversible pawlspring-pressed against said ratchet-wheel.

9. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination with thebox and sliding-Wedge, a rotatable shaft at rightangles to thelongitudinal movement of said wedge and having means on one end thereoffor rotating it, gearing connecting said shaft with said wedge wherebythe latter is adjusted longitudinally by the rotation of said shaft, aratchet-wheel mounted on said shaft, a double-ended pawl each ,end ofwhich is adapted to press upon said ratchetwheel and one end of which isadapted to engage the teeth thereof so as to prevent the backwardmovement of said wheel and the other end of which is adapted to engagethe teeth of said wheel so as to permit the back ward movement thereof,and means for holding either end of said pawl against saidratchet-wheel.

10. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination withthe box and sliding-wedge, a rotatable shaft at right-angles to thelongitudinal movement of said wedge and having means on one end thereoffor rotating it, gearing connecting said shaft with said wedge wherebythe latter is adjustable longitudinally by the rotation of said shaft, aratchet-wheel mounted on said shaft, and a pawl having an end adapted toengage the teeth of said ratchetwheel and having a spring actuating itand adapted to hold it in either of two positions in one of which saidend is removed from said ratchet-wheel.

11. Means for adjusting bearing-boxes comprising, in combination withthe box and sliding-wedge, a screw-stem mounted on said wedge parallelto its longitudinal direction of movement, a gear-cage mountedto slidelaterally and through which said stem passes, a worm-wheel nut mountedin said gear-cage and engaging the threads of said stem, a worm-shaft atright-angles to said stem and having a worm engaging said worm-wheelnut, means for rotating said shaft, a ratchetdevice mounted on saidshaft and a reversible pawl engaging with said ratchet-device. 12. In alocomotive, the combination with a vertically sliding driving-box, anadjusting-wedge having a vertical movement, a pedestal in which said boxslides, and a binder connecting the lower ends of said pedestal, of ascrew-stem mounted on the lower end of said wedge parallel to itslongitudinal direction of movement, a slide way mounted on the bottomface of said binder, a gear-cage engaging said slideway and havingtherefore a lateral sliding movement with respect to said binder, awormwheel nut confined in said gear-cage and engaging the threads ofsaid screw-stem, a worm-shaft parallel to the driving-axle and having aworm engaging said worm-wheel nut, means for rotating said worm-shaft,and means for holding it against rotation.

13. In a locomotive, the combination with a vertically slidingdriving-box, an adjusting-wedge having a vertical movement, a pedestal.in which said box slides, and a binder connecting the lower ends of saidpedestal, of a screw-stem mounted on the lower end of said wedgeparallel to its longitudinal direction of movement, a slideway mountedon the bottom face of said binder, a gear-cage engaging said slidewayand having therefore a lateral sliding movement with respect to saidbinder, a worm-wheel nut confined in said gear-cage and engaging thethreads of said screw-stem, a worm-shaft parallel to the driving-axleand having a worm engaging said worm-wheel nut, the front end of saidworm-shaft being adapted for engagement by a wrench or like device forrotating it, and a ratchet-device mounted on said worm-shaft and actingto check its rotative movement.

14. In a locomotive, the combination with a vertically movingdriving-box, a pedestal therefor, a binder connecting the lower ends ofsaid pedestal, and an adj ustment-wedge between one side of said box andsaid pedestal and'having a vertically sliding adjustmentmovement; of apair of vertical screw-stems mounted on the lower end of said wedge andpassing through holes in said binder, a slideway carried by said binder,a gear-cage having a lateral sliding-movement upon said slideway, a pairof worm-wheel nuts confined by said gear-cage and engaging the threadsof said stems, a worm-shaft par allel to the driving-shaft and carryinga pair of worms engaging said worm-wheel nuts, said worm-shaft beingrotatably mounted in said gear-cage and having its front end squared toadapt it to be turned by a wrench or like device, a ratchet-wheel keyedupon said shaft at the front of said gear-cage, a double-endedreversible pawl either end of which is adapted to engage the teeth ofsaid ratchet-wheel, and a spring adapted to hold either end of said pawlagainst said ratchet-wheel, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

' FRED A. DIECKMAN. .Witnesses:

EVANGELINE KAZILEH, WALTER M. JOYCE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

